Good morning readers,
When faced with a big question, I do what most of us do and turn to google for answers. (As I type this I realize that I should probably ask Amy’s AI friend too, but that is a post for another day.)
“How do I write a graphic novel?”
Google has informed me that I can do this in six easy steps:
Decide on Your Idea. Like every other work of fiction, a graphic novel starts with a story idea.
Decide on Your Illustration Style.
Write Your First-Draft Script.
Refine Your Script.
Find an Illustrator.
Publish!
I am happy to report that step number 5 is complete!!
I have decided to start where I feel most comfortable, research. I have the following books accumulated, so I know what I will be doing this week!1
Understanding Comics, Scott McLoud
Hilda and the Troll, Luke Pearson
Heartstopper, Alice Oseman
Lumberjanes Vol. 1: Beware The Kitten Holy, ND Stevenson, Shannon Watters, Grace Ellis, Gus A Allen
Pashmina, Nidhi Chanani
Seek You, Kristen Radtke
Does anyone have book recommendations for me? Especially those that pertain to step one??
Cordially, Laura
Shout out to the Austin Public Library for actually having graphic novels in their inventory.
It seems the unnamed topic here is.... "to write a graphic novel"? You have an interesting list of books to peruse both in terms of cartooning and graphic novels. In terms of books related to #1.... I would think if you are considering a graphic novel it may be because you already have an idea or a story you want to tell and illustrate? Probably the first thing is to decide if you are telling a true story or making up a story?
If you know what that story is, I bet there are lots of other graphic novels that might be inspiring and relevant in a similar space. (I often browse the "related" lists for whatever books I'm looking at.) Sounds like a fun project to be contemplating!
I can recommend any book by Lynda Barry, especially Making Comics. Apologies if you know her stuff already.